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Meta's AI smart glasses have a creepy reputation, but they are finding ...
Home WearablesNews A visually impaired artist is running a marathon guided by strangers through Meta AI glasses Meta Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses have earned a reputation for being creepy, with growing backlash over reports of users secretly recording people in public. Swedish journalists found that Meta moderators had reviewed intimate footage captured through the glasses, including people using the toilet and having sex. Meta responded that it takes data protection seriously and that footage stays on a user’s device unless they choose to share it. Reports of the company’s plans to implement facial recognition haven’t helped either. But here’s the thing – the same glasses are also quietly changing lives in ways that are hard to argue with. How a blind artist is using Meta glasses to run a marathon guided by strangers worldwide Clarke Reynolds wearing Meta AI Glasses BBC Clarke Reynolds, a 45-year-old blind artist from Havant known as “Mr. Dot,” is believed to be attempting a world first this month. He’s running the Brighton Marathon guided remotely by sighted volunteers who see his route in real-time through his Meta AI glasses (via BBC). Recommended Videos Reynolds has the inherited condition Retinitis Pigmentosa and describes his vision as looking underwater – shapes, shadows, and some colour. He lost his driving licence 13 years ago after a sudden diagnosis, and has since turned braille into art, teaching it in schools and staging solo shows. He previously ran the London Marathon tethered to a physical guide runner, but found it frustrating due to mismatched stride patterns and scheduling difficulties. This time, he will be using the Be My Eyes app by saying, “Hey Meta, come be my eyes,” which connects him to a worldwide network of volunteer strangers who can see through his glasses and guide him in real time. The bigger picture behind Reynolds’ marathon bid Meta Fight for Sight, the sight-loss charity he represents as an ambassador, is coordinating volunteers for race day. There will also be a backup guide runner in case the tech fails. Reynolds says the glasses have already expanded what’s possible for him – he’s used them at art galleries and had paintings described to him in the voice of Dame Judi Dench. His fundraising target, which started at £750, has climbed to £2,000 after donations, including one from Be My Eyes itself. The goal on race day is to cross the finish line within six hours. Meta’s glasses may still carry serious ...
Meta Smart Glasses and the Privacy Problem
I recently had my roofing company come by to look at a water leak. The owner came over, we chatted, and went upstairs to the bathroom where the problem was. That’s when I realized he was wearing Meta glasses that were on and recording. I didn’t say anything in the moment because, honestly, I was caught off guard and didn’t know how to respond. I wish I had, because he should have told me before stepping into my home that he was recording and asked whether I was comfortable with that. It made me deeply uncomfortable afterward. My privacy and my home felt violated. I don’t want my personal life captured without my consent.In retrospect, what I should have done is as soon as I realized he was wearing the smart glasses is that I should have asked him to please stop recording and then educated him, kindly, on why he should ask permission before entering someone’s home with an active recording device. But the fact that I had to think through that response at all says something. The burden shouldn’t be on the person being recorded.I’ve thought about the ethical use of smart glasses. In all honesty, is there really an ethical use for them? But, like most tech, I doubt smart glasses are going away. So it comes down to privacy, our right to it, and what we can do, especially when regulations are not protecting consumers.There are serious ethical considerations with Meta glasses and smart glasses in general. The first, and most obvious, is the privacy concern, and it runs deeper than most people realize.Image Credit: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images, MetaWhen Meta and Ray-Ban launched the first generation of Ray-Ban Stories in 2021, Meta framed the product as one designed with privacy in mind from the start. The main safeguards were a hardwired capture LED that lights up during recording, a physical power switch for the cameras and microphone, and user controls in the Facebook View app for managing content. Photos and videos were encrypted on the glasses, and the glasses could only be paired with one account at a time, with data automatically deleted if someone tried to pair them to a new account.Those baseline features still exist. But the product has changed substantially since then, and the gap between what was promised and what the technology now does is significant.1. A Light Nobody Sees Isn't ConsentThe small LED light is the cornerstone of Meta’s argument that bystanders are notified when recording is happening. It hasn’t held up. Smartglasses are desig...
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